The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Open HouseApril 27 9:30-11:30amA SchoolLike No OtherPreschool - Grade 8905-257-0022www.fernhillschool.comPRINTER EMPTY?REFILL ANDSAVE UP TO60%refillUpper Oakville Shopping CentreSNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010ONTARIOS TOP NEWSPAPER - 2Delivering005-2008Living905-842-5600 www.thinkrefill.ca56 Pages $1.00(plus tax)A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 45USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIESFRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011All you can read buffetEMS delaysEarth WeekClean Upat hospitalSaturdayare costlyResidents are invited to help By Christina Commissoclean up their neighbourhoods METROLAND WESTat any one of 31 local nature MEDIA GROUPspots for the 20th annual Earth Week Clean Up on Saturday, April Almost $1.5 million in EMS16.staffing hours was lost last yearThe event, organized by the due to hold ups in emergencyOakville Community Centre for departments.Peace, Ecology, and Human While Haltons EMS continuesRights (OCCPEHR), will take to hit its response time targets, aplace from 9-11 a.m.lack of beds in emergency roomsOakville residents and stu-is keeping paramedics and theirdents have responded really well vehicles tied up at hospitals.to this event which is the largest During his presentation to thecommunity-wide clean up in Regions Health and SocialCanada during Earth Week Services committee Tuesday, EMSaccording to Earth Day Canada, director Greg Sage said close tosaid Stephen Dankowich, execu-9,000 hours were lost in 2010 duetive director of OCCPEHR, in a to hospital offload delays.press release. When we launched If there are 12 ambulances onthis campaign in 1992, there duty and four are tied up at hospi-were 28 volunteers who cleaned tals in offload delays, were leftup the shores of Bronte Creek with eight vehicles. The longerunder the QEW Overpass. In they stay in hospital, the further2010, there were 50 coordina-our resources are depleted.tors, 1,600 residents, and 2,000 The Ministry of Health has set astudents participating.20-minute target for paramedicsThe organization estimates to arrive to emergency depart-that over the previous 19 years, ments until theyre able to respondmore than 61,000 people, includ-to another call. However, whening students, have helped out.inpatient beds in hospitals are full,The annual Clean Up encour-patients end up occupying emer-ages people to take care of their gency beds and paramedics areown neighbourhood and it has unable to move individuals fromcontributed to bringing people the EMS stretcher to hospitalstogether in the pursuit of an envi-beds.ronmentally sustainable commu-MICHELE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER Regional Chair Gary Carr saidnity. In addition, it saves tens of SPRING BOOK SALE:Volunteer Ed Kurak puts up signs in preparation for the Friends of the Library Spring Book the offload delays could be tracedthousands of dollars a year for the Sale, which is now on at the Oakville Central Library on Navy Street. It's open 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. today and Saturday and back to the Province, which islocal taxpayer, said Dankowich.See Offloading page 41-4 p.m. Sunday. All sale items will be half price Sunday. See Gloves page 3Brazilian Specialty CoffeeWe Grow It. We Roast It. You Brew It! 775 Pacifi c Road, Unit 30, Oakville (near Toyota Dealership)905-469-6060 www.carvalhocoffee.caRegular hours: Monday-Friday 10-12 and 2-5:30, Wednesday until 7pm, Saturday 10-12